SUPPORT FOR SMALL PRODUCERS. The Menomonie Market Food Co-op is the Chippewa Valley's only cooperative grocer, and thanks to its community owners and local shoppers, it is able to distribute Fund Our Foodshed grants to regional farmers and producers.

Do you know where your food comes from? If you're shopping with local farmers and producers, it's likely they can point at a map and tell you right where their goods are coming from. That spot – the land, the farms and more responsible for locally-made food – is called a foodshed. 

The Menomonie Market Food Co-op (MMFC) has been doing its part to fund our region's foodshed through its aptly-named Fund Our Foodshed grant program since 2018. The program, aimed at supporting and revitalizing rural producers in the wider Chippewa Valley region, awarded a total $2,000 in its inaugural year.

Last Thursday, March 19, MMFC celebrated its ninth annual Fund Our Foodshed grantees at its downtown Eau Claire location. There, the co-op unveiled its record-high grant funding total: $25,800 in grants were awarded to six local farmers and producers.

2026 Fund Our Foodshed grantees

• Beloved Acres Farm (Wheeler): Expand herb drying capacity
• Cultivating The Commons LLC (Amery): Construct new seed screens
• Fun Guy Farm LLC (Eau Claire): Convert a semi-trailer into a mushroom production space
• Jill and Lilly's Handmade Pasta (Eau Claire): Upgrade pasta making equipment
• Racing Heart Farm (Colfax): Towards a new tractor
• YMCA Camp St. Croix Farm & Garden (Hudson): Purchase an equipment storage/berry shed

“This grant program is a testament to the strength of our community,” MMFC Community Outreach Coordinator, Measha Vieth, said in a recent media release.

The program relies on contributions made by shoppers via the “Round Up for Good” fundraising initiative at the local grocer’s registers. Each donation allows the co-op to give back through programs like the Fund Our Foodshed grants.

“When our customers choose to round up their purchases, they are directly investing in the prosperity of their neighbors,” Vieth continued. “Each contribution helps build a sustainable future for local farming and food production.”

The program is open to applicants located within 100 miles of either MMFC location – 814 Main St. E., Menomonie; 206 N. Barstow St., Eau Claire – which have been operational for at least one year, and have not received $1,000 or more in MMFC grants, products or in-kind donations over the past two years.

Applications are reviewed by a committee composed of MMFC staff, co-op board members and co-op owners, with emphasis placed on projects “that improve operational infrastructure and increase food production.”

One of this year's six Fund Our Foodshed grantees is Racing Heart Farm in Colfax. Operators and first-generation farmers, Les Macare and Els Dobrick, pictured at the grant awards event in downtown Eau Claire.

MMFC General Manager Crystal Halvorson, pictured, embracing grantee Jill Keiser (Jill and Lilly's Handmade Pasta) at the March 19 event.

Over the course of 2026, MMFC will share more information about each winner – and their respective projects, which must be completed by Sept. 1 per grant requirements – through social media.

Next year's grant cycle will open for applications in January 2027. View the Fund Our Foodshed grant criteria and additional information online at mmfc.coop/fundourfoodshed.

Learn more about Menomonie Market Food Co-op's Fund Our Foodshed program online • Visit MMFC at either of its area locations (814 Main St. E., Menomonie; 206 N. Barstow St., Eau Claire) • Keep up with the local grocer on social media